Colin Middleton
Colin Middleton was born in 1910 in Belfast. His oeuvre was widely influenced by the politics of the time affecting the city and, more globally, Europe, the early days of the Second World War and the Belfast Blitz amongst others. He studied at Belfast College of Art before taking evening classes at the Belfast Royal Academy while helping the familys damask business after his fathers death in 1933. He quickly became associated with other Northern Irish painters such as Daniel ONeill, Gerard Dillon or Neville Johnson, touring with them through group shows organized by his representative an art dealer Victor Waddington. His first major solo exhibition was held at the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery in October 1943 as a creative response to the citys bombardment by German air raids in 1941. Middleton started exhibiting with the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) in Dublin in 1938 and became a full member in 1970. Considered by art historian Dickon Hall to be a decade of recognition for Colin Middleton, the 1970s put the artist on a pedestal. In 1969 he was created MBE while a major retrospective of his works was held at both the Ulster Museum and the Hugh Lane Gallery in 1976 and received an honorary doctorate by Queens University in 1972. These years also saw the achievement of Middletons new body of works entitled the 'Wilderness Series' and, subsequently, the 'Westerness Series' influenced by his travels to Spain and Australia. His oeuvre and style evolved throughout his career, embracing a neo-impressionist and surrealist vision of his time. (whytes.ie)
-
'MAGNETIC LANDSCAPE'
- Price Realised: 58,000
- Sale: 29 November 2005
- oil on canvas
- 46 by 61cm., 18 by 24in.
-
'TIERRA DEL FUEGO: THE WILDERNESS OF FIORENZA COSSOTTO, 1972-74'
- Price Realised: 48,000
- Sale: 28 November 2022
- oil on board
- 24 x 24in. (60.96 x 60.96cm)
-
'THE PARK: COLERAINE, 1956'
- Price Realised: 44,000
- Sale: 28 November 2022
- oil on canvas
- 26 x 30in. (66.04 x 76.20cm)
-
'WOMAN WITH BIRDS, 1981'
- Price Realised: 42,000
- Sale: 16 September 2019
- oil on panel
- 48 x 48in. (121.92 x 121.92cm)
-
'COLUMBINE; THE WILDERNESS OF KIRSTEN FLAGSTAD, 1972-74'
- Price Realised: 42,000
- Sale: 24 November 2008
- oil on board
- 46 by 46cm., 18 by 18in.
-
'THE QUEEN OF SPAIN'S DAUGHTER'
- Price Realised: 42,000
- Sale: 19 November 2002
- oil on board
- 43 by 43cm., 17 by 17in.
-
'MURAL I'
- Price Realised: 40,000
- Sale: 30 April 2007
- oil on panel
- 91 by 91cm., 36 by 36in.
-
![THE QUEEN OF SPAIN'S DAUGHTER, 1972-74 [WILDERNESS SERIES NO. 28] by Colin Middleton sold for 38,000 at Whyte's Auctions](/images/auction/853/61829.jpg "THE QUEEN OF SPAIN'S DAUGHTER, 1972-74 [WILDERNESS SERIES NO. 28] by Colin Middleton sold for 38,000 at Whyte's Auctions")
'THE QUEEN OF SPAIN'S DAUGHTER, 1972-74 [WILDERNESS SERIES NO. 28]'
- Price Realised: 38,000
- Sale: 07 December 2020
- oil on board
- 17 x 17in. (43.18 x 43.18cm)
-
'MUSIC'
- Price Realised: 38,000
- Sale: 29 April 2003
- oil on canvas
- 51 by 66cm., 20 by 26in.
-
'(GROUP V) SAINT JOHN: RETROSPECT, 1943'
- Price Realised: 36,000
- Sale: 25 November 2019
- oil on canvas
- 20 x 24in. (50.80 x 60.96cm)
-
'VISITATION - WESTERNESS CYCLE NO. 8, 1974/75'
- Price Realised: 34,000
- Sale: 29 September 2008
- oil on board
- 61 by 61cm., 24 by 24in.
-
'MANNA, 1951'
- Price Realised: 32,000
- Sale: 04 March 2013
- oil on canvas
- 30 by 26in., 75 by 65cm.
-
![THE LONG MEMORY [WESTERNESS SERIES], 1974/5 by Colin Middleton sold for 30,000 at Whyte's Auctions](/images/auction/891/72017.jpg "THE LONG MEMORY [WESTERNESS SERIES], 1974/5 by Colin Middleton sold for 30,000 at Whyte's Auctions")
'THE LONG MEMORY [WESTERNESS SERIES], 1974/5'
- Price Realised: 30,000
- Sale: 02 December 2024
- oil on board
- 24 x 24in. (60.96 x 60.96cm)
-
'FIRE DANCE, 1964'
- Price Realised: 30,000
- Sale: 19 September 2006
- oil on board
- 122 by 102cm., 48 by 40in.
-
'CHILDREN AT PLAY, 1939'
- Price Realised: 29,000
- Sale: 26 September 2016
- oil on canvas
- 24 x 29½in. (60.96 x 74.93cm)
-
'COASTAL LANDSCAPE WITH TREES AND COTTAGE, 1937'
- Price Realised: 27,000
- Sale: 04 October 2010
- oil on canvas
- 46 by 61cm., 18 by 24in.
-
![SEATED FIGURE: 6.72 [1972] by Colin Middleton sold for 25,000 at Whyte's Auctions](/images/archive/20140526/067.jpg "SEATED FIGURE: 6.72 [1972] by Colin Middleton sold for 25,000 at Whyte's Auctions")
'SEATED FIGURE: 6.72 [1972]'
- Price Realised: 25,000
- Sale: 26 May 2014
- oil on gesso-prepared board
- 36 by 36in., 90 by 90cm.
-
'SEVEN CREATURES, 1970'
- Price Realised: 25,000
- Sale: 30 April 2007
- oil on board
- 122 by 122cm., 48 by 48in.
-
'GLEN LOUGH'
- Price Realised: 24,000
- Sale: 16 September 2003
- oil on board
- 61 by 61cm., 24 by 24in.
-
'DEAR SIR'
- Price Realised: 24,000
- Sale: 19 November 2002
- oil on board
- 61 by 61cm., 24 by 24in.
-
'SLIGO LANDSCAPE, 1940'
- Price Realised: 21,000
- Sale: 03 March 2025
- oil on canvas
- 16 x 20in. (40.64 x 50.80cm)
-
'U.F.O.'s'
- Price Realised: 20,000
- Sale: 15 March 2010
- oil on board
- 61 by 61cm., 24 by 24in.
-
'DUET, 1961'
- Price Realised: 20,000
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- oil on board
- 61 by 46cm., 24 by 18in.
-
'MUSIC, 1953'
- Price Realised: 19,000
- Sale: 26 May 2025
- oil on canvas
- 20 x 26in. (50.80 x 66.04cm)
-
'SLIGO LANDSCAPE, 1940'
- Price Realised: 19,000
- Sale: 29 September 2008
- oil on canvas
- 41 by 51cm., 16 by 20in.
-
'SEVEN CREATURES'
- Price Realised: 17,500
- Sale: 17 February 2004
- oil on masonite board
- 122 by 122cm., 48 by 48in.
-
'MURAL V AND MURAL VI (A PAIR)'
- Price Realised: 17,000
- Sale: 30 April 2007
- oil on panel
- 122 by 30cm., 48 by 12in.
-
'UNTITLED, 1983'
- Price Realised: 17,000
- Sale: 18 February 2003
- oil on panel
- 58 by 58cm., 23 by 23in.